Homemade Chocolate Cupcakes + Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Becca here with a great & easy cupcake recipe, and the most amazing chocolate buttercream I think you'll ever taste!  For her seventh birthday, my daughter requested chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting that was "not 'foamy' like the kind from the store."  This chocolate buttercream was anything but "foamy" and tasted just like the chocolate frosting from the expensive cupcake store to me!  I got the original recipe here and just made a few minor changes.  The coffee is to add more depth of flavor and compliment the chocolate flavor, you don't actually get a "coffee" taste from the cupcake.  I actually ended up making three batches of these (we have a large family!) and have a few tips that make them even better.  1) Don't over mix the batter, this will make them drier.  2) Using 'dutch process' (dark) chocolate in both the frosting and the cupcakes were our favorite.  My small town local grocery store even carries this.  3) After making the buttercream, place it into a zip top bag and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to use.  Let it sit out to soften for an hour or two, snip the corner, and pipe frosting onto your cupcakes in a cute swirly design!

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup cocoa (I prefer dutch process, dark, cocoa)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (I use Real Salt)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cooking oil (I used olive)
2 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup strongly brewed coffee, decaf is fine (I used instant coffee)

Preheat oven to 350, and line 24 spaces in cupcake tins with paper liners (a great job for kids!)  In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt).  Be sure to break up any lumps of brown sugar or cocoa as you stir.  I like to use the back of a wooden spoon against the bowl to do this.

To the dry ingredients, add milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla, and whisk until well blended.  Stir in the coffee, and whisk again, just until blended!  The batter will be very thin, it's supposed to be!

Divide the batter among the 24 lined cupcake cups, filling each one 3/4 full.  I like to use a dry 1/4 cup measuring cup to do this with.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from cupcake tins as soon as possible, and let cool completely before frosting.  Enjoy!!

Chocolate Buttercream

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup cocoa (I like dutch process, dark cocoa)
2 cups powdered sugar (also called confectioners' sugar)
1/4 strongly brewed coffee, decaf is fine.  I used instant

In a small bowl, beat butter, cocoa, and 1 cup of powdered sugar.  Add a couple spoonfuls of coffee, and continue to beat until smooth.  Add remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar, and enough coffee to make it a nice spreadable consistency.  May be refrigerated until ready to use, remove an hour or two ahead of time to let soften before using.